Soundstorm review: Linkin Park rock with new singer Emily Armstrong and Eminem gets his mojo back

Saudi Arabia's successful 2034 World Cup hosting bid was also celebrated in style

Eminem was the star of Riyadh's Soundstorm festival on Thursday night. Photo: MDL Beast

With just over a dozen gigs under their belt, the new line-up of Linkin Park is an unlikely step forward. Unlikely because how do you replace one of modern rock’s most distinctive frontmen, whose dynamic vocals formed the group’s DNA?

No wonder it took a nearly seven-year creative soul-searching process for the band, culminating with the relatively unknown singer Emily Armstrong taking over vocals following Chester Bennington’s death in 2017. Colin Brittain is also a new addition, replacing Rob Bourdon on drums.

Their performance in front of 100,000 people on the opening night of Riyadh’s Soundstorm festival on Thursday augurs well, as the band prepares for a world tour beginning in January.

The nearly two-hour set, spanning their biggest hits and tracks from this year’s solid comeback album From Zero, should also help silence the two main criticisms levelled by hardcore Linkin Park fans. For those initially wondering – and I count myself among them – “Emily who?” when Armstrong was announced as the new lead singer, the Riyadh set proved she is a dynamic and powerful vocalist in her own right.

As for those lamenting why Linkin Park is even continuing after Bennington’s death, the Riyadh performance provides the answer: the new line-up has the energy and ruggedness – we’ll get to that later – of a fledgling band who just happen to be getting their start in stadiums.

This was evident from the onset of the opener, Somewhere I Belong, from the blockbuster album Meteora. Having attended a Melbourne show on the 2004 tour, I recall seeing Linkin Park at full pomp. Bennington had established himself as a brilliant frontman, with vocals that effortlessly moved from a boy band croon to a shredding metal roar, while the rest of the band provided a precise backdrop that made the live music almost indistinguishable from the recording.

Linkin Park's new singer Emily Armstong silenced the doubters with her dynamic, powerful vocals. Phto: MDL Beast

Here in Riyadh, it was different. The signature pile-driving riff of Somewhere I Belong sounded muddier and more gnarly. This had less to do with the style of tour guitarist Alex Feder (original guitarist Brad Delson has opted out of playing live) and more with the band finding new ways to revitalise older material. Hits Crawling and Burn It Down also packed a more vital and feral quality. It wasn’t that the band was at risk of playing the wrong notes. Instead, their apparent disregard for sounding painstakingly pristine made the music feel more kinetic and joyful.

Which brings us to Armstrong, whose impact is more catalytic than direct. Keenly aware of the big boots she is filling and the unfair commentary surrounding her arrival, she maintains a low-key stage presence. Perhaps out of respect for Bennington – known for marauding around the stage – Armstrong does not physically impose herself and limits her crowd banter to a few greetings.

That said, when she lets rip with one of her many visceral roars on the potent The Emptiness Machine and Two Faced, both standout tracks off From Zero, it becomes clear why she was chosen.

Linkin Park combined new tracks with recalibrated old favourites in their Soundstorm set. Photo: MDL Beast

Perhaps after achieving sonic perfection with Bennington, the surviving members, led by guitarist/rapper Mike Shinoda, felt it best to rediscover the beauty in some of the brutality underpinning their works. Whether it’s by ratcheting up the volume in an unbridled version of One Step Closer or leaning further into the melancholy of What I’ve Done – featuring a particularly haunting vocal performance by Armstrong – the band seems to be recalibrating, not changing, their sound.

By the time the two-hour set closed with Faint, any misgivings about Linkin Park’s return were assuaged. Armstrong even offered a faint smile before leaving the stage.

There was no need for a song or moment officially dedicated to Bennington; his legacy is imbued in everything Linkin Park has done and will do. Instead, what the Riyadh concert shows is a resilient band taking another one step as they forge their path forward.

Eminem is sharp in biggest concert to date

Eminem performs to more than 100,000 people in Riyadh. Photo: MDL Beast

The sea of people greeting Eminem, an artist who has been performing in stadiums for over a decade, at Soundstorm on Thursday made even him temporarily break out of character.

Pointing to the more than 100,000 people watching him perform after Linkin Park on the Big Beast stage, he told his sidekick Mr Porter: “Man, this could be the biggest crowd I ever played to.” The rapper's most-attended solo concert was his sell-out Melbourne Cricket Ground show in Australia in 2019, watched by more than 80,000 fans.

While Soundstorm was a festival date with more than 100 artists on the bill, there was no mistaking who was the star of the evening. In what appears to be the signature introduction for his 2025 world tour, he followed up his Abu Dhabi F1 performance last week by again emerging from a coffin wearing a hockey mask and wielding a chainsaw – recalling the on-stage antics of his Anger Management tour in the early 2000s.

The Abu Dhabi gig – only his second full-length concert of the year – saw his voice nearly give out a third of the way through the performance at Etihad Park. But his appearance six days later in Riyadh, following a show in Bahrain, found him undeniably sharp. The back-to-back combo of speed-rapping fests Godzilla and Rap God remains a highlight. However, the decision to omit the new single Temporary, featuring supporting artist Skylar Grey, seems odd, considering it was the emotional high point of all preceding shows.

Concluding his first sold-out Gulf tour, Eminem would surely leave Riyadh taking heart that, more than 25 years into his career, his regional fan base remains as committed as ever.

Saudi World Cup celebrations continue at Soundstorm

Brazilian player Neymar appears on the Soundstorm festival main stage to celebrate Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup. Photo: MDL Beast

Saudi Arabia’s winning bid to host the 2034 World Cup football tournament is turning into an ongoing celebration. A day after the announcement, Soundstorm welcomed some of the kingdom’s high-profile players to celebrate the occasion with the kind of enthusiastic crowd expected to fill the stadiums 10 years from now.

Preceded by the chanting of Saudi football songs, national football team captain Yasser Al Qahtani took to the main stage alongside Brazilian star Neymar, who plays for Riyadh’s Al Hilal, to share in the communal joy.

“This is something all of us in Saudi Arabia dreamt of, and it is finally happening,” Al Qahtani said. “This is only the beginning.”

Soundstorm festival continues in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, until Saturday.